


Cracking a smile

by thisisamadhouse



Series: Nightmares verse [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Missing Year (Once Upon a Time), RegalBeliever feels, drunk!Regina, flirty determined to drive Robin crazy!Regina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 10:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13479687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisamadhouse/pseuds/thisisamadhouse
Summary: "Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile at me?“ In which Robin tries to help a drunk Regina through a difficult evening. (Missing Year, pre-OQ + Regal Believer feels)





	Cracking a smile

**Author's Note:**

> This was a reply to a dialogue prompt: "Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile at me?“ that I received on Tumblr, and I coupled it with a request I got on FF for Drunk!OQ in the Missing Year.

Regina had missed Roland’s bedtime story telling and Robin was worried. It had become a sort of ritual ever since Robin had left his son in her care while he had to go on a mission overnight. They alternated reading to him and tonight had been her turn,  she had never failed to show up before.

  
His brilliant plan to get child and Queen closer had worked amazingly well, and the two were now as thick as thieves, no pun intended. However, it had backfired spectacularly on him. Any progress he had made with Regina seemed to have been erased as she welcomed Roland in her heart, as if she couldn’t allow herself to have more than one person close. Even after all his efforts to help her, she had continuously pulled away from him. 

  
The ten feet high wall around her had been carefully rebuilt, and each of her rare smiles, laughs and touches were reserved only for his son. Robin felt jealous, which was absolutely ridiculous and childish, but he couldn’t help himself. It had made him realise just how deep his feelings for the Queen ran, and since Roland was very possessive of “his Majesty”, it seemed the two were now battling for her affections. As if Robin had any chance against the cute, dimpled toddler who had melted the hearts of his father’s toughest Merry Men.

  
Yes, the outlaw felt envious, and he wanted to be part of his son and the Queen’s adventures instead of being the third wheel. He wanted this and so much more… but of course he wouldn’t reveal the sometimes very inappropriate thoughts he harboured for the fascinating monarch. He wanted to be able to uncover all those layers she was wrapped up into, every single one of them.

  
In order to do that though, he had to find her. Roland had been very disappointed at her absence tonight, and had all but ordered his father to make sure his Majesty was alright. Robin had put Little John in charge and had gone to check Regina’s usual hideouts, from her chambers to the library to that high tower with an open platform she would go to during a storm- to his utter bewilderment- to no avail. 

  
She wasn’t in the castle, of that he was certain. He went to the stables and noticed at once the absence of her favoured horse. Sighing, he saddled a chestnut mare he had already ridden a couple times and walked her to the camp some of his Men had established just outside the palace.

  
Much welcomed him, curiosity written all over his face at his leader’s presence at this time of night, and his eyebrows flew up in surprise as Robin asked him if any of them had seen the Queen.

  
“The Queen? She rode past us at full gallop a couple hours ago. I think it was her anyway, hard to tell when she was covered head to toes by a black hooded cloak. It was her stallion for sure, and since she is the only one who mounts that beast, I assumed…”

  
Robin nodded. “Yes, I understand. Do you know where she was headed?”

  
“Well, she certainly didn’t stop long enough to tell us, as if that woman would concern herself with that…” Much stopped himself as he caught Robin’s darkening expression, and bit his tongue, he should know better than to criticize the Queen in front of Robin when they all knew how touchy the man could be on the subject. “I mean, she didn’t say where she was going, but she seemed to be riding towards the village.” Much rephrased and Robin frowned.

  
“What could she possibly have to do in the village this late?” He wondered out loud.

  
Much shrugged. “Dunno, there isn’t much to see in the village at this hour apart from the tavern, but I can’t really imagine her there, sitting with all the peasants,” the man said, laughing at his own remark.

  
Robin ignored him, simply thanking him, and leaving Much behind to gape at him as he got on his own horse and set off in the darkness, the clatter of his hooves disrupting the silence of the night.

  
It didn’t take the outlaw long to reach the village, and even less time to spot the huge black stallion Regina had been the only one able to break in. He attached his mare next to it and entered the tavern.

  
The place was crowded, and he was saluted by many people, more or less warmly. He tried to discreetly locate her, he didn’t want to start a riot by attracting attention to the fact that the “Evil Queen” was here. 

He approached the bartender, a man he thought he had seen among the company who had come back from this Storybrooke town. The other man seemed to recognize Robin as well, and a small smile of relief appeared on his face. He inclined his head and nodded towards a corner of the establishment, right next to the back door.

  
A hooded figure cloaked in black was sitting there, head bent, their face hidden from all angles but Robin knew, he just knew it was her. He ordered some ale and made his way to the table silently. He sat in front of her, not saying a word until she finally acknowledged him. The moment he set eyes on her face he instantly knew the empty pint she was clutching wasn’t the first one she had finished, far from it.

  
The Queen’s eyes were glazed, slow to focus their attention on him, if her slow blinks were anything to go by. Soon, a lazy smirk formed on her full lips, from which the once carefully applied red paint had smeared. Robin was definitely not expecting this reaction to his presence and voiced it.

  
“Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile at me?” He asked and her smirk only widened into a grin as she talked for the first time that night.

 

Well, maybe talk wasn’t the right word for it, Robin amended in his mind. This had definitely nothing to do with the usual way Regina spoke.

  
“Myyy kniiight… in shininnnng armour. I should h-h-have known you would… come… and look for me.” Regina slurred, and Robin winced as her high pitched voice caused some of the closest patrons to look at them. He threw them sharp looks until they went back to their business.

  
“Milady, maybe it would be a good idea to leave now before anyone realizes the Queen decided to grace the common mob with her presence. If you truly want to become inebriated, or even more so than you already are, might as well do it safely behind the walls of your castle,” Robin said in a low voice, and Regina snorted in a decidedly unladylike manner.

  
“With that… liiittle snooowflaaake… watching over me… every hour of the day? No, no, noooo, don’t think sooo,” she chanted and then snickered. “Why do you think I came here?” She punctuated her sentence by jabbing one of her fingers repeatedly in his shoulder until he caught her hand in his, linked their fingers, and brought their joined hands back to the table.

  
“Milady, I don’t think you understand, I’ve got a very disappointed and sulking four-years old back at the castle, who all but threw a tantrum when you didn’t show up to read him a story. I’m on strict orders to bring you back safe and sound,” Robin explained, bending a little towards her, trying to catch her eyes which were fixed on their hands, a strange expression on her face.

  
She seemed to deflate as his words registered in her clouded mind. She bit her lip, raised her head and her voice was much softer when she spoke again. “I can’t leave now… Nooo, no, not yet. I have to stay until I’m aaaallll done,” Regina said, shaking her head.

  
Robin frowned, her words not making much sense to him. He was about to inquire more when a waitress placed another pint in front of her. He stopped Regina from taking it and asked.

  
“How many of those have you already had?”

  
Regina stared intensely at him for a bit, looking for any sign that he judged her and finding none, only concern.

  
“Ten, with this one,” she answered quietly, still studying him, and Robin tried to school his expression as much as he could, not letting his surprise show.

  
“How many more do you plan to have?” He wanted to know.

  
“As many as there are candles on Henry’s birthday cake,” she muttered, taking a healthy swig from the mug as Robin let go of it.

  
“Today was…” He started, but she cut him off.

  
“Yesterday… but my darling stepdaughter had made me swear not to do anything drastic. She wanted me to  _talk_ to her instead,” she all but spat the last sentence, her eyes lost in the content of her tankard. “I never promised anything about today,” she added, before downing the rest of her ale in one gulp, a droplet or two falling from the corner of her mouth. Robin caught them with his thumb without thinking after she put the drink back down. The contact startled Regina, and she froze on her chair, her wide eyes searching his.

  
They stayed unmoving for several moments, eyes locked,  barely breathing until Robin brought his thumb to his mouth to lick it. Regina’s eyes grew impossibly larger as she followed the movement, and the outlaw stifled a smirk at the idea that he had unsettled the all and mighty Queen with this simple gesture, but then she was drunk and staying focused seemed to become a real challenge for her.

  
“Alright,” he said and nodded at the passing waitress, pointing out at the empty tankard.

  
Regina cocked her head. “You are… not going to… try and stop me,” she enunciated, trying to control the more and more prominent slur of her speech.

  
Robin shook his head. “It would be very hypocritical of me to do so, considering what I did after my wife’s death. I can understand the need to spend one evening drinking the sorrow away, and at least now I can make sure you will make it back in one piece.”

  
Regina blinked, amazed. “And you… will nooot…. tattle to the Uncharmings… the first chance… you get?“ 

  
Robin was impressed at her efforts to sound her usual self, but he was too acquainted with her sharp and quick tongue to be fooled.

  
"Why on Earth would I do that? You are a grown woman, they are not your keepers,” he replied.

  
She snorted again. “Tell them… that. They did… not get… the memo.”

  
Robin smiled in response, an intoxicated Regina was quite entertaining, and much easier to approach than her sober version, he thought.

  
He grew serious as he pondered his next question. It could be a deal breaker, but he felt that she needed it. “Can you tell me about him? Your son?”

  
She avoided his gaze, bowing her head, as she thought about whether or not she was going to reply, but in the end she did. Slowly and painfully, she recounted each and every one of Henry’s birthdays, until the last two. 

Last year’s and getting him a present she never had the chance to give him because they were kept apart and everything was a mess, and yesterday’s when it wasn’t even a possibility. She had tried to imagine what he did with Emma, but the attempt had only brought tears to her eyes and made her choke down sobs.

  
As her trip down memory lane ended, she had also finished her last pint, and Robin coaxed her into leaving the tavern. He indicated to the innkeeper that they were leaving through the back door. He would rather have them make their way back to the horses from outside than take the risk that Regina stumbled in the tavern and revealed herself in her current state. It was already something of a miracle that she was still able to stand at all, he didn’t know how long that would last. 

  
Some of her grim mood seemed to have lifted, although he wasn’t sure if it was due to their talk, or to the amount of alcohol coursing through her system. She tripped over her own feet several times and giggled as Robin caught her in his arms. Her hands lingered on his chest, and a playful grin appeared on her face, which he found rather dangerous.

  
“You keep yourself in sheap, Thief. Shape, shape,” she corrected herself, rolling her eyes and giggling again.

 

Robin inhaled sharply at her closeness, this woman had been invading his thoughts in various ways since they met but this was definitely not how he wanted things to go.

  
“Milady, I really think we should head back now. It is very late and I wouldn’t want us to linger here any longer,” he said, grabbing her wandering hands, but she only pressed herself against him.

  
“Worried that you will not be able to control yourself?” She whispered seductively, with her lips against his jaw. Robin shivered and closed his eyes, breathing her in, her usual perfume mixing with the strong effluvia of alcohol.

  
“Yes, I am worried, and I am not ashamed to say it. I would like nothing more than for this to go further, but I will not take advantage of you while you’re drunk and grieving,” he declared, seizing her shoulders and making her turn around.

  
“You’re no fun, and too noble for a thief,” she pouted.

  
Robin chuckled. “You, on the other end, are quite amusing when you’re under influence." 

  
They managed to join the horses and Robin hesitated as to what to do next. He didn’t trust Regina not to fall off her horse if she rode on her own, but her stallion was quite difficult around anyone other than the Queen. She solved his dilemma as she rather clumsily mounted on the beast, he was about to do the same with his mare when she slid perilously to the side. He stopped her from falling, grabbing the reins as the horse neighed agitatedly.

  
"Oops!” Regina exclaimed as she clutched his shoulder.

  
He managed to calm down the horse, and decided to ride behind Regina, while holding the reins of the more docile mare.

  
They travelled back towards the castle at a slow pace, and it was torture for Robin as the Queen decided to taunt him by rubbing her behind against his front. His cock rose to attention- despite his best efforts to think about anything else than the mischievous creature in front of him- drawing a low, throaty moan from Regina. She took one of the hands he had lightly laid on her hips and started an exploration of her own body until he imprisoned both her arms with his.

  
“You’re the Devil,” he whispered in her ear.

  
“Just "Evil”, dear, just evil,“ she replied, turning her head, their mouths just a few millimetres apart.

  
Robin straightened and put some more distance between them. She scoffed at him.

  
When they finally arrived at the camp outside the Dark Palace, most of his men were asleep, just two remained on duty and they were wise enough not to comment on the fact that Robin and the Queen were standing very close to each other, with her leaning heavily on him, and only offered to take care of the horses. 

  
Robin led Regina to her chambers. She attempted to take off her cloak but he had to help her. She gave him a coy smile, and as she sat on the bed she brought him down with her. Robin barely had enough time to put his arms on the sides of her head in order not to crush her. She locked her legs around his hips, and he groaned at the sensation. He forced himself to pull away, and her face fell at what she took as a rejection.

  
"Regina, if I was certain you would not throw me over your balcony in the morning, after finding me in your bed, with barely any recollection of what happened, I would happily stay. If you still want me here when you’re sober, then believe me, I will be delighted to. Until then, I think it’s better if you rest, you will be nursing one hell of a hungover in a few hours,” he explained softly, cradling her face, not letting her avoid his gaze.

  
“It seems easier like this,” she said weakly, her voice small, her bottom lip jutting out.

  
“I’m sure it does. If you think this is an easy thing for me to do, then you are thoroughly mistaken. I have dreamed of this for weeks now, but as I said earlier, I will not take advantage,” he pressed his lips against her brow, allowing himself one last caress over her cheek before tucking her in.

  
She grabbed his hand as he was stepping away. “Thank you,” she said, as she struggled to keep her heavy eyelids open, and the intensity behind her words pulled at his heart.

  
“Sleep, my Queen,” he replied softly, not letting go until she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. He put her hand carefully on the bed, and found a bucket that he placed on the floor just beside her. He filled a glass with water and set it on the night stand.

  
With a last lingering look, he closed the doors carefully and made his way to Granny’s room. He would feel better if someone was watching over Regina, and he trusted the old wolf to do it without questions. Just as he expected, the woman listened to what he had to say, not asking for any details, she had known the significance of yesterday, and had probably thought something like this was bound to happen. They parted and Robin headed to his son’s room and found him curled up around the plush monkey.

  
“She is safe, my boy, and she will make it up to you.” Robin whispered in Roland’s ear who smiled slightly, tightening his embrace on the toy.

  
The Queen didn’t appear at all the next day, and the Princess told Robin she had refused to see anyone and sounded strange but none the worse for wear.

 

In the days that followed, Regina was back to her usual self, at least to most it appeared that way, but Robin noticed that some of her harshness towards him was gone. She was never as forward as she had been that night but they now formed, with Roland, a nice little trio that felt strangely like a family. Only a trip to Storybrooke and missing memories would allow their relationship to fully blossom. 

  
Even if they never talked about that night again, it was the foundation for Regina’s unwavering and subconscious trust in Robin, because she knew that he was unable to use and abuse her as so many had done before.


End file.
